4th Sunday of Lent-Cycle A–2017
FIRST READING Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
The LORD said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.” As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before him.” But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.” Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
SECOND READING Ephesians 5:8-14
Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
GOSPEL John 9:1-41
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” – which means Sent – So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He replied, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.” They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.” So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see, ‘so your sin remains.
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
“One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” – the official people of religion are trying to convince the formerly blind man that Jesus is a fake. The formerly blind man holds on the one thing: I was blind and now I see!
For us today, the question really is this: “Has Jesus changed my life at all?” If Jesus has not touched my life, then it is difficult to cling to Jesus. But if Jesus has touched me in some way, then it is not so difficult to cling to Him, no matter what others tell us.
The first reading today is about the choice of David to be the King of Israel. David is not the eldest son, and yet he is chosen. David is not particularly outstanding—even though he is presented as handsome and tall—yet he is chosen. The teaching of this reading from the Book of Samuel—and it is common teaching in the Old Testament—is that God chooses freely and does not choose according to our ways of choosing. So often in the Old Testament, a younger son is chosen. So often in the Old Testament, the unexpected person is chosen. Sometimes even the “less good” of two persons seems to be chosen. God chooses and we are not always able to see why God chooses.
Why have I been chosen to follow the Lord? Has the Lord done anything for me? Do I give anything to the Lord?
The second reading is from the Letter to the Ephesians. Here we are told: “Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” When we hear this kind of advice, we should not think that somehow God is calling us to follow a “mysterious” rule book of what makes God happy! The only thing that is pleasing to the Lord is to seek Him personally with our heart, mind and soul. God wants us and that which pleases God is when we seek Him and try to be present to Him every day.
The Gospel today is from Saint John: the story of the man blind from birth who is given sight by Jesus. The challenge, as so often in the Gospel of John, is that Jesus performs healings on the Sabbath, the day on which no one is supposed to work. First of all, people think that someone bling from birth had to be involved in sin, either the parents or the person himself. Jesus is clear that this is not the case. Then the Pharisees enter into the picture and get upset with Jesus for this healing on the Sabbath. No one wants to cross the religious authorities!
The focal point of the Gospel, however, is when Jesus says to the formerly blind man: “You have seen the Son of Man, the one speaking with you is he.” This is the same point from last Sunday when Jesus told the woman at the well: “I am the Messiah, the one speaking to you.”
At some point, each of us must come to believe that Jesus is the Lord, Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the Son of Man. Only then will we see that, like David, we are chosen. Only then can we see what is really pleasing to God. And only then will we see.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip